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Welcome to my Wikipage. You will find thoughts and ideas about entrepreneurship.

Visit my blog : http://s10cilyourlife.wordpress.com/

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Results of the Palgrave Test

1

a. Comments on the Palgrave test

This evaluation reflects quite well my personality.

Section 1
First of all I am optimistic most of the times. But I only got 8 out of 12 for the section concerning the need of achievement. I am not that kind of person who always want to be the best in every fields.

Section 2
Moreover I am often independent and it is not a problem for me to stay alone. I am more efficient in working alone than in a group work.

Section 3
I enjoy doing unconventional things (for example stencils, just like in my entrepreneurship project). Besides I think that I am more creative than the average (I scored 10 out of 10, so more than the average of 8). I haven't tendency to daydream but I'm very curious and I am intuitive. One again I think that my project is linked to that tendency.

Section 4
Concerning the risk taking, my score is also higher than the average. I tend to judge when incomplete data is sufficient and I think that I am quite aware of my capabilities so I am neither nor under-ambitions.

Section 5
Eventually I got a high score in the section drive and determination. I am not always determined, but I am determined for the things that really have an importance for me. Finally I strongly believe that I am the only one who can have an influence on my path and on my destiny.

I was not surprised by those results: it looks like the results of the MBTI. I have a strong creative side but well balanced by a realistic side with the importance of the tasks and the results. My optimistic profile provides me a good motivation for the future projects that I want to manage.
Generally speaking my classmates had a clear view of their personality thanks to the MBTI. That is why nobody told me that the Palgrave test was not relevant to analyze their personality in terms of motivation, project management and creativity.

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b. Talent Management

I think that an entrepreneur need further qualities which are not mentioned in the Palgrave Test.

There are traits of personnality...:
Innovative
Hard working
Intrepid, like an explorer
Not afraid by failures
Organized
Have a passion for something (it is better if there is a link with the project)
Not easily disheartened
Open to people
Self-derision
Open minded

...as well as general fields that we can learn in school:
Good in maths & accounting
Good in project management
Good negociator
Good written expression

Other traits of personnality do not help:
Too self confident
Arrogance

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c. Research on the Internet

http://trendwatching.com/

This website is one of my favorite website since I know it. It is not a website designed especially FOR entrepreneurs but entrepreneurs can find hundreds of interesting information. Trends are described and analyzed by professional and it gives a clear overview of the actual trend concerning everything in life : ecology, transports, design, fashion, communications, new technologies, lifestyle...
Nowadays, trends are constantly changing and an entrepreneur has to follow those novelties particularly if he comes with a new business idea. Does it fit to the trend? If not, can it create a trend? Are people going to be seduced by the idea?
Most of the information on the website are sent by a network of spotters who work from all the continents and who work out the trends that they notice. To me this way of working guarantees a diversity in the points of view and that is extremely relevant for the trend-watching. Besides this website is used by huge companies, from Google to Carrefour. It shows the importance of trends within a company, whatever the size of the company.


http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/

This website is especially designed for young entrepreneurs who are launching their own business or intend to. There are as well general information about entrepreneurship as a really interesting feature which enables to ask advices to specialist (law, HR, web...). This website really focus on the help for young entrepreneur and it deals with all the problems that can be encountered. I prefer this website to www.entrepreneur.com because youngentrepreneur is more a coaching website and it can be useful for all types a SME.

To me those two websites really matter for an entrepreneur. They can watch the trends on trendwatching and develop their ideas and their technical skills on youngentrepreneur.

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d. Picture Search

This picture found on Bing with the word "Entrepreneur" gives a good idea of the way I imagine an entrepreneur. It is not difficult to understand that the entrepreneur is not represented by the guys in suit. The entrepreneur is the guy who wears jeans and sneakers. I do not mean that all the guys who wears casual clothes are entrepreneurs neither that all the entrepreneurs wear casual clothes! Being entrepreneur has nothing to do with clothes and the cliché of the cool guy with jeans, sneakers and an iPhone (now even an iPad) is not the reality. What I want to show with that picture is that the entrepreneur has an other way of seeing things. The guy in red stands in the other side. For me this position represents an entrepreneur's mind. The entrepreneur tries to see life in an other way with new ideas, new way of managing, new way of thinking. That is why many entrepreneurs have difficulties in convincing people at the beginning of their projects. They come with new perspectives and nobody trust their projects. Why? Because to many people like the guys in black, stand normally and wear black suits, i.e they are not enough open minded to be sensitive to new ideas and new life experiences. They obviously need more time to believe in something contrary to the entrepreneur who has a lot of projects and ideas.

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e. Personal picture

This picture represents 6 Polaroid Instant Photos. They have been snapped by a Polaroid 600 of the 1990s. All of the snaps failed because the Polaroid films were out-of-date. Nowadays it is really difficult to find films for a Polaroid, and it is really expansive because the production has been stopped since June 2008.


The picture above represents my vision of entrepreneurship because there is a project called The Impossible Project which aims to relaunch the production of instant films. Thousands of people have still an instant camera but they can use it anymore because they do not find films. This project is really difficult because it needs a lot of money and a strong team. It is a wonderful project of entrepreneurship but they are a lot of challenge, for example find a way to reduce the costs of the films' production. For me this project is a mix between challenge, efforts and passion and that is the way I imagine entrepreneurship.

"Don't undertake a project unless it's manifestly important and nearly impossible", Edwin LAND, Inventor of instant photography

More infos on this project : http://www.the-impossible-project.com/2009

f. Blog

Visit my blog : http://s10cilyourlife.wordpress.com/

g. Trendwatching

I have chosen the URBANY trend. Indeed this trend concerns 50% of the world's population (in 2008, more than 50% of the world's population lives in an urban area). People are more and more proud of their towns or region. For example the crazy trend with the sweatshirts, tee shirts or hats with the logo I Love NY shows that the link to a urban geographic area can be really strong. Now you can find a I Love my town everywhere. Among the "10 crucial consumer trends for 2010", the urbany trend is the second one. It shows how important it can be.
My business project is strongly based on the fact that people love their city and that they want to customize it, just like their home. Cities are full of grafittis on the walls. Some people love that, other hate that, but they all noticed that the walls are a place to express feelings, thought and ideas. I could not say how many times I have seen people shooting graffiti in the street with their digital cameras but it is a huge figure and I personally shoot most of the graffiti and stencils that I see in the street.
Thus my business idea proposes to transfer the street culture into anyone's house. Street art also becomes legal and people can personalize it on their own taste.


Moreover the URBANY trend touched the medias and the advertising:

This ad with a stencil was designed by the french street artist Miss-Tic for UCAR, a car rental company

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This poster has been designed by Miss-Tic for a French movie - La fille coupée en deux - by the French director Claude CHABROL

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This picture is the record sleeve of the BLUR album - Think Tank. It was designed by the English street artist BANKSY

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In May 2008 the Tate Modern in London proposed street artists to paint their projects on the front of the museum. This exhibition had a huge success.

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2

a. Next practice not best practice

To me a best practice is a kind of quality control within an organization which can be seen through rules, advices, proposals. It concerns techniques, process, activity... Everybody in the hierarchy must take part into that way toward quality and customer satisfaction. Best practice are often not complicated but it enhance a process really quickly and easily.
To me and like Hermann Scherers explains in his book, storytelling is a strong current best or even next practice in the strategies of the companies. Nowadays most of the successful brands are using storytelling (for instance eBay with the story of the PEZ or Moleskine with the story of Picasso). When you look at the next practices described in the Scherer's book, you notice that almost all of them are used within the most successful companies of the 2000.
Next practices create a proximity between the consumers and the firms. The consumers have a strong feeling of being served by the company and not only to be a cash machine. The general concept is a funniest way of selling products in order to attract customer and to create loyalty.

I want to apply to my business next practices like:

• Exclusivity (only 10 winning stencils are printed - look at my blog for more details)

• Use the trend of crowdsourcing and urbany

• Storytelling about the origins of street art

b. Naked pizzas

"Our mission is to lead the pizza industry in the transition toward a healthier and sustainable food system"

Naked Pizza was created in the New Orleans after Katrina. They widely use the next practices described in the Scherer's book:

• funny packaging
• storytelling (creation of the firm in the post Katrina New Orleans: job creation and healthy food to prevent obesity)
• importance of trends: social mission + trend of healthier product
• revive old traditions with traditional pizza just like in Italy

Naked Pizza understood that the proximity to the customers is the secret for a successful business. They adapted their business to the problems of their customers like junk food, obesity, diabete... They managed to switch the pizza from a status of junk food for couched potatoes to a status of healthy food for active people.

3

a. Competencies Management - Building the Dream Team

My business project would need people with those 5 competencies:

• open minded
• creativity
• notions in design
• deductive reasoning

I found 3 more capabilities on the Prasena competencies generic dictionnary:

Technical skills:

• multimedia skills

Organisationnal skills:

• organization skills
• communication skills

4

a. Blue Ocean Strategy

NetJet Inc. was founded in 1964. It was one of the first company specialized in business jet and aircraft management. They were the first to introduce the principle of selling fractions of an aircraft. People can buy a fraction of an aircraft with a guaranteed access (50 to 400 hours annually, it depends on the contract). Granted it is much more expensive than a flying with a traditional airline but it is less expensive than buying a whole aircraft which must be constantly maintained. NetJet came on the market to create a blue ocean when it was still empty of competitors and that is the reason for such a success.

The Body Shop was created in 1976. It was the first cosmetic shop which took in consideration issues like environment, fight against the animal testing, helps to the third world, protection of the human rights or use of natural product. Actually the use of natural product only happened at the end of the 80s through an alliance with Greenpeace in 1986. The Body Shop was the first to mix a glamour image with a responsible behavior. They created a blue ocean during the 70s, now it is a red ocean.

Starbucks Coffee was created in 1971 by 3 partners. They began their development in the USA, then in Canada and from 1996 in the rest of the world. Starbucks was the first coffeehouse to propose a real “coffee experience”. At the beginning they only sell coffee bean but from 1984 they begin to sell coffee beverages with different sizes and tastes. Starbucks Coffee’s president sees Starbucks as a third place, after work and before home. They take inspiration into the Irish pubs, the French and Austrian cafés and the German brasseries. Thus Starbucks was the first to propose to the American comfortable place where to buy and drink tasty coffees. Moreover it was not an easy challenge because American people do not really have a coffee culture like in Europe. This firm created a blue ocean of coffee in the USA and it was a real success but now there are a lot of competitors.


eBay was created in 1995 and it is today the leader in online auctions. The principle is based on trust and on a system of notation. People use eBay because they know that they are going to receive the product that they bought and people sell things on eBay because they know that people trust the website. eBay created a blue ocean in the consumer to consumer business.


Nintendo Wii is a Japan home video game console which arrived on the market in 2006. At this time there were two main actors on this market – the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. But in fact the Wii arrived in a blue ocean because it was the first video game console with a wireless controller which detects the movements in 3 dimensions. The success can be explained by revolutionary technology of the Wiimote which enable to create new gaming experiences, such as with sports games. The user was a spectator with the other consoles; he becomes an actor with the Wii.


Ikea is a Swedish company which produces home furniture since 1947. IKEA created a blue ocean with well designed furniture, inspired by the trends and the famous furniture brands. Consumers have to assemble the kit furniture because it enables to gain space and to save money. Finally the created a real IKEA experience. Some people only go in IKEA to have a walk or see the new decoration but not to buy something. The interest is that they always buy something even if they did not plan to.


Fedex is a logistics services company created in 1973. It was the first delivering company which enables its customers to track their packages from the sending to the reception. Fedex created its blue ocean by putting 4 concepts at the heart of its mission: speed, ease, reliability and traceability.


CNN is a US cable news network founded in 1980. CNN created its blue ocean with the particularity of broadcasting news 24/7. They were the first to launch a network specialized in the news and now there are thousands.